Ask Uncle John Anything: A Bridge Too Far
Uncle John knows pretty much everything—and if he doesn’t, he heads his massive research library, or puts one of his many associates on the case. Here is the answer to a recent question we received. Why is the Golden Gate Bridge red? Shouldn’...
Ask Uncle John Anything: These Words are Crazy!
The English language has long had a flippant attitude toward mental illness. Any sort of abnormal behavior can get you called crazy. How did “nuts” or “bananas” come to mean “crazy”?
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Ask Uncle John Anything: It Glows in the Dark!
Summertime is glow stick (or light stick) season—it’s fun to wave them around at night, at parties, during those Fourth of July celebrations, at the campground, etc. But how do those little day-glo sticks glow (at night) without a battery or a bu...
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Ask Uncle John Anything: Skunked
Did you (or more likely, your dog) get hit with the noxious spray from an agitated skunk? Well, that stinks. It’s time for a soak in a bathtub full of tomato juice. But does that old home remedy really work?
Ask Uncle John Anything: Mmmm…Doughnuts
The concept dates back to the 1930s and 1940s. Before the proliferation of fast food restaurants and convenience stores, there weren't a lot of places for swing shift or overnight workers to get a bite to eat or a cup of coffee. By and large, America...
